In 2017 Modern States was launched to create a path to free college credit. It was dubbed “Freshman Year for Free” and the goal is to make college a little bit more affordable for high school students, college students, and adults.
There are currently 32 classes available on Modern States, some of the courses stemming from a partnership between Modern States and edX (the online education platform created by Harvard and MIT.)
Why is Modern States and CLEP important in your high school homeschool?
Nearly any class you offer to your homeschooled high schooler will have a CLEP test you *could* administer at the culmination of the class. Nearly every science, language, business class, history, humanities, English, psychology, or economics class you might consider teaching in your homeschool will have a corresponding CLEP test offered by the College Board. Of course, in your homeschool you might not cover every topic that will be on the test. However, IMO, it would be in your best interest to attempt to cover everything in your homeschool that will appear on the test, especially if the subject matter is one that is offered on the Modern States site and you can take the test for free (CLEP test costs are otherwise around $100).
I can go to the College Board site and find this information on the content in the CLEP Algebra Exam:
Algebraic operations (25%)
Operations with exponents
Factoring and expanding polynomials
Operations with algebraic expressions
Absolute value
Properties of logarithms
Equations and inequalities (25%)
Linear equations and inequalities
Quadratic equations and inequalities
Absolute value equations and inequalities
Systems of equations and inequalities
Exponential and logarithmic equations
Functions and their properties (30%)
Definition, interpretation, and representation/modeling (graphical, numerical, symbolic, and verbal)
Domain and range
Evaluation of functions
Algebra of functions
Graphs and their properties (including intercepts, symmetry, and transformations)
Inverse functions
Number systems and operations (20%)
Real numbers
Complex numbers
Sequences and series
Factorials and binomial theorem
After I review the exam content of the CLEP Algebra exam from the College Board site, I can then determine if the curriculum or program I used at home is sufficient enough that it covered the above content. Then I can have my student immediately use the Modern States class as a refresher or to fill in gaps that I may have missed in my teaching. Finally, after the student completes the entire class, it qualifies him to get a voucher to take the CLEP exam for FREE. That is 100% free college credit. There are many FREE resources for CLEP test taking, from online practice tests to REA or Barron books you can rent from your local library. Ask around to your local homeschool community and see if anyone might have the CLEP study guides you can borrow.
You can even think of the CLEP exam as a final test that a student might receive in school, except that passing it has the bonus of being awarded free college credit.
To me it is just a simple issue of "why not?" Why not try to pass the test (especially if it is free) and you have covered the content, and why not at least try to get the free college credit? Free tests have no risk, except for your time. You are in control of where you send the test results, so if your student bombs the test, there is no risk of it being reported anywhere or following him where he goes.
CLEP exams, administered by the College Board, are accepted for credit by more than 2,900 colleges and universities.
A list of the free 32 classes and exams on Modern States:
